We Need to Talk
by xxSakuya-senpaixx
Summary: Ricken wants to talk to Robin and Robin wants to talk to Laurent, but what is this all about? A shippy fic with the main pairing Laurent/ Fem!Robin (MU) and Ricken/ Miriel as a side pairing.


It was a typical day with a long list of chores for Robin. She was currently marking alternate routes for the army on a large map which was spread out across her entire desk and still spilling off the edges. The white-haired tactician was quite absorbed in her work and almost didn't hear someone with a child-like voice from outside her tent say, "Hey, Robin, are you in there?"

"Mhm," she grunted her response, trying not to break her concentration.

"Can I talk to you…in the barracks," the voice added almost as an afterthought.

"Sure, Ricken, just give me a moment…I'll meet you there," the woman replied trying to hastily finish what she was doing before she lost her current train of thought.

Ten minutes later Robin was walking into the barracks and upon entering she saw Ricken seated in a chair in the middle of the room with an empty chair opposite him, waiting for her.

"Good morning, Ricken," she greeted him as she made her way across the room toward him.

"Hey, Robin," Ricken greeted her in return, looking up at her with a furrowed brow as if she had just interrupted some deep thought he had been having.

"What's on your mind?" she asked as she sat in the chair opposite him.

"Well…I've noticed that you and Laurent have been spending a lot of time together lately," he began.

"Yes," the tactician nodded, unsure of where he was going with this.

"And…honestly, I'm concerned…," Ricken continued, fighting to find the right words, "that you are more…special to him than you realize."

Just as Robin opened her mouth to reply the door of the barracks opened and the mage in question walked in. "Father…Robin," Laurent greeted them nodding his head to each of them in turn as he wandered to the bookshelf at the back of the room.

The two sat there in silence, uncomfortable with continuing their conversation in front of the person they were just discussing. Robin sat with a perplexed look on her face wondering what had prompted Ricken to think this way and why it had bothered him enough to bring it up. It was true that Laurent had been spending a lot of time with her recently, but she had seen him do stranger things in the name of education.

Laurent, seeming to sense the quiet tension in the room, placed the tome he had been inspecting back in its place on the shelf and walked over to where his father and the tactician were seated. "You seemed to be discussing something in a lively manner until a moment ago," he pointed out, "Am I right in assuming it was a topic pertaining to myself?"

"Oh, no, it's just a personal matter," Robin quickly assured him, giving the mage a small smile.

"It is a matter of such a personal nature that you feel uncomfortable discussing it in my presence?" he further inquired.

"For the moment, yes," the woman admitted looking away.

Laurent's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. "Then I apologize for the intrusion," he stated, sounding hurt. The tall man bowed his head slightly before leaving the barracks and shutting the door behind him.

"You see that?" Ricken asked pointing at the closed door, "That is exactly what I'm talking about. He wants to know everything about you…because you're special to him and…and you don't seem to realize the influence you have on him."

"Are you worried that I'm a bad influence on your child?" Robin joked smiling.

"Hey, don't talk down to me!" Ricken retorted before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes seeming to think about what he was really trying to say. "I'm…just worried he's gonna get hurt," the younger man finally explained.

"Well you shouldn't be. He's a very capable mage," Robin replied immediately, trying to put her friend's fear to rest.

"That's not what I mean. I'm talking about his feelings. I'm afraid his feelings are gonna get hurt!" he told her seriously, his face going a little pink at the end.

Robin's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would you be concerned about that?" she questioned him in confusion.

"Because, like I said, you're special to Laurent…and you don't even seem to notice!" Ricken accused, his voice taking on an intensity the tactician had not expected.

"What's to notice? We're friends, that's all!" Robin exclaimed, suddenly on the defensive.

"Don't you notice how he seems to spend all his time with you?" the bronze-haired mage responded, "A few days ago I saw him following you around from dawn until well after dark. He couldn't have followed you more closely if he was your shadow!"

"Ricken, he's just trying to learn from me," the tactician explained calmly, "He said he wants to know what I do as this army's tactician and I thought what better way for him to learn what I do than for him to see it for himself?"

Just as Robin finished speaking the door to the barracks opened again and Miriel walked in. She spotted the two of them seated in the middle of the room and made her way toward them saying, "Ah, I had been informed that the two of you were here having a tryst of sorts."

"I-it's nothing like that!" Robin hurriedly reassured her while Ricken turned the deepest shade of red she had ever seen. "Ricken was just concerned that Laurent has been spending a lot of his time with me," she further explained.

"Indeed, I have also observed this inclination in my son's social patterns, but one wonders, why?" Miriel mused.

"Beg pardon?" Robin said feeling a little offended.

"He seems to have formed an affinity for your companionship. What then, is the basis for this preference? And do the same principles apply to the wider populous?" the mage summarized thoughtfully.

"Ricken seems to think I'm… _special_ to him," the white-haired woman told Miriel shooting a glance at the other mage sitting across from her as she emphasized his euphemism.

"Indeed," she replied as though this were a logical conclusion," one might hypothesize that the reason for his sudden longing for your companionship is that you have become the object of his affection."

"You know we could just ask him why he likes to spend time with me," Robin suggested starting to feel worn out by this conversation.

"I would request that you refrain from taking such actions," Miriel requested in her usual even tone, "I would like my findings in this matter to be purely objective and your interference would corrupt the experiment."

"Whatever happens just be honest with him," Ricken chimed in.

"Quite, your honesty would be appreciated in this endeavor," Miriel commented as she began to scribble notes in the book she had been carrying. "I must prepare a control group," she excused herself leaving the room.

"Look, he's a tough kid," Ricken said quietly, his eyes serious, "he can handle your honesty no matter the circumstances…heck, he's probably smart enough to know if you aren't being honest."

Robin considered the younger man sitting before her for a moment before replying. "I never thought you would be such a doting father, Ricken," she smiled before continuing on a more serious note, "I would never play games with your son's emotions. Laurent is my friend and I would never want to hurt him…and while I understand your concern, I'm not sure you should be poking around in your son's love life." Ricken opened his mouth to protest, but Robin held up a hand to silence him before continuing, "I know that you think of him as your child, but Laurent is a grown man nearly the same age that you are now. Like you said, he's tough, so I think you should have more faith in him."

Ricken nodded, "I understand, Robin. I just wanted you to be aware of his feelings for you, because to me on the outside it's pretty obvious that he thinks highly of you."

"You're much more mature than I thought, Ricken," the taller woman commented rising from her seat.

"I keep saying I'm not a kid," the shorter man pouted also rising.

"Robin?" Laurent called poking his head into the tactician's tent later that day, "It is nearly dusk and you have remained confined to your quarters all day, thus it follows that you have once again overburdened yourself with work. Might I be of assistance with anything?"

Robin looked up from her work where she had been practically laying atop the map sprawled over the surface of her desk to study the more minute details. The tactician considered the mage entering her tent for a moment before asking, "Did you really think we were having a…a…a tryst?" her cheeks turning slightly pink as she said the last word.

"Ah…I had assumed that if you were doing something you wished me to have no knowledge of, it was likely something you were ashamed of, and truthfully I could think of few other reasons you would wish to meet with my father in secret...but I assure you, I now understand that I misinterpreted the situation and you have my sincerest apologies for causing such a misunderstanding."

"Thanks for sending Miriel," Robin continued sarcastically, ignoring his apology, "She's running an experiment on me now."

"An unforeseen consequence I assure you…my apologies," he repeated more softly this time.

"It's alright," Robin waved off his apology sinking into her desk chair, leaning her head back on it and closing her eyes.

"Robin, you look positively exhausted," Laurent observed.

"Thanks, you too," she interjected before he could continue.

"I must insist that you allow me to help you with whatever is causing this vexation. I believe I have expressed to you before my concerns regarding your blatant disregard for your own health and mental well-being."

Robin opened her eyes and could not see the mage anywhere until she turned her head and realized that he had seated himself on the crate of books next to her. Their sudden proximity startled the tactician and she reflexively jumped nearly knocking over the chair she was sitting in. The only thing that stopped the chair from crashing to the ground and taking her with it was Laurent catching the back of it and pulling the chair so that the legs met the floor once again. The tired woman just sat there dumbfounded for a moment before taking a deep breath and turning the chair so she could face her savior. "Thank you," she said once she was securely seated again.

"Happy to help," he responded cheerfully.

"Can I ask you something?" the tactician inquired looking up at her companion.

"You just have," he smiled, "but I would answer another query on your behalf."

The purple-clad woman nodded and continued, "Why do you spend so much time trying to help me? You must have other things you would rather do."

Laurent seemed taken aback by this question. He blinked and sat up straight before answering with a confused, "You are my friend, Robin. Why would I not do all that is within my power to help you?"

"Am I really just a friend to you?" Robin countered, "Your father didn't seem to think so."

Laurent's eyes widened and his features took on a pink hue when she said this. "It would be improper of me to think of you in any other capacity when you have already formed an intimate relationship with another," the mage replied steadily while studying the toe of his shoe as though he were suddenly fascinated by it.

 _What? What is he talking about?_ Robin wondered in confusion _I'm not in an…'intimate relationship' with anyone._ The woman sat bewildered staring at her companion for a few moments before responding, "An 'intimate relationship'? This better not be about earlier, because-"

"I am not speaking about my father," Laurent cut her off to clarify. He continued in a more confused voice, "You are currently courting Fredrick, are you not?"

"What?! What gave you that idea?!" Robin all but shouted. _If Laurent thinks this, then how many others think the same?_ she wondered feeling alarmed at the thought.

"I observed you calling him Freddy Bear when the two of you were alone at the stables," Laurent explained carefully, "Such monikers are reserved for those we hold most dear, are they not? Thus, I assumed the two of you were courting, but given your reaction to this assertion it seems I was mistaken."

Robin sighed feeling relieved that it was only a small misunderstanding and not some big supposed scandal like earlier. It was so very like Laurent to misinterpret small details like that and make big assumptions based on them, but the situation was so ridiculous that she almost felt like laughing. "I was just teasing him," she explained, her fatigue suddenly forgotten in the face of the current situation, "He asked me to teach him how to eat bear meat, so I called him that as a joke, but he hated that nickname."

"Ah, I see," Laurent responded, his face suddenly more relaxed than it had been a moment ago as he looked up from his shoe.

"Now that that's cleared up," Robin concluded smiling, "answer my question, Laurent. What am I to you?"

"My initial interest in you was purely professional," the man answered pushing up his glasses. At hearing this response Robin was surprised to feel her stomach tighten in disappointment, but then the mage continued, "By merit of your position as tactician you were the only one in camp who had intellect to match my mother, so I sought to learn from you. More recently, however I have come to the realization that I had stopped considering you my parents' friend and had instead begun to view you as…a woman," he looked into Robin's soft, brown eyes as he continued, his face flushed with color, "…and I have begun to realize what a wonderful woman you are. Ever since I noticed this change in my perception of you my feelings toward you have been…unclear."

"What do you mean? Unclear how?" Robin asked looking into his face for answers.

"When we are in close proximity my heart rate accelerates and my palms begin to perspire even if I have done no strenuous physical activity," the mage began to explain seriously, "and when I observe you speaking with others I will sometimes feel enraged or depressed and experience a tightening of the chest or abdomen. Ever since the symptoms began I have been searching my mother's medical texts hoping to diagnose the illness I seem to have contracted, but alas I have yet to find an illness in any of her books that accounts for all of my symptoms…or why they appear only when I am in close proximity with you. At first I assumed that I must have contracted this illness from you, it was certainly plausible with the amount of work that we have been doing together recently, but you appear to be healthy as a horse, well when you're not working yourself to death, and-"

"Laurent," she interrupted trying to get his attention, "I know what's wrong with you and I'm certainly glad that you did get it from me."

"What a curious thing to say. I presume it is not a serious illness then?" the mage inquired expectantly.

"Mmm, I suppose that depends on who you get it from," Robin replied thoughtfully.

"A disease which causes differing symptoms from person to person? Fascinating! Might I inquire as to what the designated term for this illness is?" Laurent asked with an enthusiastic hunger for knowledge.

"I bet you can figure it out yourself," the tactician giggled. "I'll give you a clue," she offered, "Remember how you said that you started to feel strange when you saw me talking to other people? What did all the people I was talking to have in common?"

"Hmm, well they were all your age, all from this timeline," he began ticking off each item on his fingers as he listed them, "they were all members of the army, all the same gender-"

"That!" Robin interrupted, "Focus on the last thing you said. 'They were all the same gender.' What gender?"

"They were all male," he confirmed. "So I feel ill when I observe you speaking with other males?" he asked seeming more confused than before.

"Yes, but it's not actually an illness," the tactician explained, "it's an emotion called jealousy."

"Jealousy?" Laurent asked in surprise, "I am familiar with the concept, but why would I feel jealous when I observe you speaking to other men?"

"Why indeed," Robin smiled, "You're a smart person. I'm sure you'll find the answer sooner than later."

"If you are privy to the solution I seek will you not simply answer my query?" her friend inquired sounding frustrated.

"It wouldn't be right," she told him, "It's something you need to discover for yourself. Trust me."

"I do trust you, Robin, and I will contemplate the matter," Laurent replied seriously as he rose and left the tent.

During the next several days Robin saw very little of Laurent much to her disappointment. He seldom popped his head into her tent to ask if she needed help like he used to and when she requested his help when her work was piling up he would always rush off when he was finished saying that he had other matters to attend to.

"No, this needs to stop," Robin told him standing stubbornly in the doorway of her tent with her arms crossed refusing to let him exit after he had made that very excuse. "You've been avoiding me ever since that talk we had a couple days ago and I need to know why," she told him sternly.

"My apologies. If it seems as though I have been avoiding you it has been completely unintentional," he stated quickly before squeezing past the tactician and darting out of the tent.

"Hey! I'm not done talking to you!" she shouted as she chased after him like a manwoman. Laurent had the advantage at first with his long legs outpacing Robin's shorter ones, but eventually Robin's stamina won her the race and she was able to corner the exhausted mage with his back against the bookshelf in the barracks.

"Ok," she huffed, a little winded herself, "no more…walking on eggshells…around me. Why…have you been…avoiding me?"

There were several moments of silence while Laurent thought of what to say and Robin stared unrelentingly into his face before the mage finally cleared his throat and began speaking. "Robin, I- I think I have fallen in love with you," he explained going very red in the face. "It is…an unfamiliar position for me to find myself in," he explained with difficulty, "and if I have avoided you as a result of my confusion I apologize."

"I told you you'd figure it out," Robin beamed up at him.

"Though this realization has caused me much confusion, there is one thing I know for a certainty," Laurent continued more confidently looking into the woman's beautiful face, "I wish to be by your side from now until the end of days. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Of course, Laurent!" Robin exclaimed excitedly hugging him and resting her head on the taller man's chest, "Nothing would make me happier." Laurent put his arms around her in return and softly kissed the top of her head…just as Miriel walked into the barracks. Laurent looked up at the sound of the door opening to see his mother take a step toward the bookshelf and freeze which made his face burn so hot he was afraid he would spontaneously combust.

"Excuse the interruption," she aplogized stepping out of the barracks again and closing the door behind her.

"The next time we have a touching moment we better go somewhere more private," Robin mused looking up at Laurent with her chin perched on his chest and noticing how red his face suddenly was. _He must have inherited that from Ricken_ she thought.


End file.
